Mark Shuttleworth, Founder & CEO, Canonical

Despite the many benefits of open source software solutions like OpenStack offers network operators, the transition to a software-based architecture presents its own challenges, says Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. While software accelerates service provider processes, it also imposes its own demand on the pace of change, which made need updates on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Managing this “speed of software” is Ubuntu’s value proposition for service providers, especially in the emerging 5G landscape of “micro-clouds” and edge computing, Shuttleworth asserted.